The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion and Renewal [Paperback]

Item description for The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion and Renewal by Joan Chittister...

OverviewDrawing on the story of her own monastic community, a best-selling author shows how to redefine the essentials of faith in a time when old ways and formulas no longer serve.

Publishers DescriptionAmong those affected by the renewal of Vatican II, none experienced the changes more than women religious. Habits were replaced by secular dress; separation behind the cloister gave way to service in the world. But the deepest changes were less visible-a new way of thinking and imagining the meaning of religious life. For communities that had seen little change in a hundred years, the impact was beyond imagining. "It did not feel like 'renewal' then," writes Joan Chittister. "It felt like disaster, like loss, like liberation, like life gone wild. And it felt like all of them all at once." This book is both a study of the way change happens and an example of it. It is an inspiring story, addressed to the wider church, about how to redefine the essentials of faith in a time when old ways and formulas no longer serve.

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More About Joan Chittister

A member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, where she served as prioress for 12 years, Sister Joan is an author and lecturer.

She is the author of Psalm Journal, Winds of Change, and WomanStrength: Modern Church, Modern Women.

She also writes a web column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand". Chittister holds a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in speech communication theory from Penn State University. She writes and speaks on women in the church and society, human rights, and peace and justice in the areas of war and poverty and religious life and spirituality. She is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a UN-sponsored organization creating a worldwide network of women peacemakers. She is the founder of "Benetvision". Her public presentations are announced on the Benetvision website.

Joan Chittister currently resides in Erie, in the state of Pennsylvania.

Joan Chittister has published or released items in the following series...

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Reviews - What do customers think about The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion and Renewal?

Honest But Only Part of the Story Jan 18, 2007

What an honest look at what happening in Religious Life today. Brave lady and understandable fan of the book, "The Intellectual Life".But in the first part in Sister's retelling of what caused the collapse of the old form of convent living she completely ignored the reasons for which the exes left. She says some where that the novices left hardly knowing why. She doesn't show any curiosity about this even though it was the cause of the state the nuns are in now. Perhaps if she did ask she might find some answers that will be helpful. Are the nuns angry at the exes or are they afraid of them and their tales?

I was there but didn't fully understand. Now I do. Jan 3, 2007

I was in religious life (the convent) for 15 years and lived through the time covered in Sr. Joan's book. Although I was in a different order her analysis spoke for our experience as well. I held this book close to my heart because it was like a personal revelation. This is an excellent book for Catholics to read if they truly wish to understand their immediate past.

One of the best writers Aug 16, 2006

Sr. Joan is one of the best spiritual writers' out today - her honestly and love come thru in everything she writes and this book is no exception

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